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Their tag line is Linux Laptop that "just works". What does that imply about Linux? What's even sadder is that the implication is not even true. Linux these day

Their tag line is Linux Laptop that "just works". What does that imply about Linux? What's even sadder is that the implication is not even true. Linux these days not only "just works", but has more functionality out of the box than a stock Windows machine.

doktrin 14y ago
I respectfully disagree. It may "just work" on thoroughly tested hardware configurations, however as a blanket statement that is simply not true. Anecdotal illustration : I'm writing this from a machine running Xubuntu because of a relatively obscure Unity bug wherein the X server fails sporadically while, say, loading a text file. This most likely is a compatibility issue relating to my graphics card. TLDR; I'm a fan, but it doesn't "just work".
mbell 14y ago
> Linux these days not only "just works" 1) Try to make it sleep. (and wake up correctly) 2) Try to make it hibernate. (and wake up correctly) 3) Try to rotate a second screen into portrait mode while maintaining vsync and compositing. (choose any GPU for this, they all fail) When you can do those 3 things reliably without fumbling around, breaking between upgrades, or even just do them (3 especially), I'll happily switch back to linux as a primary OS and say that it just works.
- vasco 14y ago
  Also, make proper use of graphics switching. I live with intel integrated graphics and won't even bother to try and switch to my ati because after about two weeks of searching forums when I got the laptop, I just gave up. This means, among other things, that I don't get to have webGL. Still, Linux all the way since everything else is awesome!
  - mparlane 14y ago
    Am I imagining that the latest linux kernel added support for this?
    - veemjeem 14y ago
      Maybe you were just lucky that your combination of hardware was supported. In my experience, you'll need the latest kernel with some patches from other people, and you'll still have to configure with something like make menuconfig to get the proper options to work.
- antihero 14y ago
  Sure, all you have to do is type `sudo vim /etc/acpid/handle.sh` and learn basic shell scripting...
- ashleyblackmore 14y ago
  In my experience, Linux hibernation problems are down to not allocating enough swap space. I don't know if Ubuntu Precise makes a large enough swap file on the default installation - I always go the manual route (fumbling around), since I always have had hibernation problems otherwise.
- pyre 14y ago
  I've had 1 & 2 work reliably for a while on laptops under Linux, but this tends to vary from model to model, unfortunately. I've been able to get 3 to work on my work setups under Mac Mini running Ubuntu and a POS Dell desktop running Ubuntu (though the Dell had obscure USB issues related to the motherboard chipset that were apparently worked around w/ the Windows driver, but not in Linux... Basically the hardware was crap so they fixed it in post^Wsoftware). Both were NVidia chipsets, IIRC.
pnathan 14y ago
To me, it's a very attractive idea: that someone has gone through the work to ensure a working combination of hardware for Linux. That's not trivial when you start getting into peripherals. In my ideal world, they'd maintain a custom set of drivers that could be updated on Arch, Gentoo, or a Debian variant. I'd buy it, keep it updated, and never have to tweak. Like my desktops.

doktrin 14y ago

I respectfully disagree. It may "just work" on thoroughly tested hardware configurations, however as a blanket statement that is simply not true. Anecdotal illustration : I'm writing this from a machine running Xubuntu because of a relatively obscure Unity bug wherein the X server fails sporadically while, say, loading a text file. This most likely is a compatibility issue relating to my graphics card. TLDR; I'm a fan, but it doesn't "just work".

mbell 14y ago

> Linux these days not only "just works" 1) Try to make it sleep. (and wake up correctly) 2) Try to make it hibernate. (and wake up correctly) 3) Try to rotate a second screen into portrait mode while maintaining vsync and compositing. (choose any GPU for this, they all fail) When you can do those 3 things reliably without fumbling around, breaking between upgrades, or even just do them (3 especially), I'll happily switch back to linux as a primary OS and say that it just works.

vasco 14y ago
Also, make proper use of graphics switching. I live with intel integrated graphics and won't even bother to try and switch to my ati because after about two weeks of searching forums when I got the laptop, I just gave up. This means, among other things, that I don't get to have webGL. Still, Linux all the way since everything else is awesome!
- mparlane 14y ago
  Am I imagining that the latest linux kernel added support for this?
  - veemjeem 14y ago
    Maybe you were just lucky that your combination of hardware was supported. In my experience, you'll need the latest kernel with some patches from other people, and you'll still have to configure with something like make menuconfig to get the proper options to work.
antihero 14y ago
Sure, all you have to do is type `sudo vim /etc/acpid/handle.sh` and learn basic shell scripting...
ashleyblackmore 14y ago
In my experience, Linux hibernation problems are down to not allocating enough swap space. I don't know if Ubuntu Precise makes a large enough swap file on the default installation - I always go the manual route (fumbling around), since I always have had hibernation problems otherwise.
pyre 14y ago
I've had 1 & 2 work reliably for a while on laptops under Linux, but this tends to vary from model to model, unfortunately. I've been able to get 3 to work on my work setups under Mac Mini running Ubuntu and a POS Dell desktop running Ubuntu (though the Dell had obscure USB issues related to the motherboard chipset that were apparently worked around w/ the Windows driver, but not in Linux... Basically the hardware was crap so they fixed it in post^Wsoftware). Both were NVidia chipsets, IIRC.

pnathan 14y ago

To me, it's a very attractive idea: that someone has gone through the work to ensure a working combination of hardware for Linux. That's not trivial when you start getting into peripherals. In my ideal world, they'd maintain a custom set of drivers that could be updated on Arch, Gentoo, or a Debian variant. I'd buy it, keep it updated, and never have to tweak. Like my desktops.